CPUC Accepting Broadband Grant Applications This Summer
The California Public Utilities Commission will accept applications for various broadband funding programs starting in the next two months, said Commissioner Darcie Houck at a partially virtual California Broadband Council meeting Wednesday. The CPUC expects to accept grant applications for…
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California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) adoption, consortiums and housing accounts and the $50 million Local Agency Technical Assistance program in June or July, said Houck. The CPUC expects to accept proposals for the $2 billion last-mile federal funding account in July, she said. The agency aims to release a straw proposal for the $750 million Loan Loss Reserve Fund in August, with comments and workshops to follow, the commissioner said. The CPUC plans to release a proposal to update CASF infrastructure account rules by the end of Q2 this year, she said. Houck is “very aware” $2 billion won’t be enough for the last-mile program but hopes the state will soon get much more from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, she said. The CPUC is developing a framework to define essential broadband service affordability standards, said Communications Division Director Rob Osborn: Expect a proposed decision coming in June or July. More granular broadband data, based on location rather than census block, is due June 1 and the commission hopes to publish it by year-end, he said. California’s State Transportation Agency and Transportation Department (CalTrans) aim by Dec. 31 to complete a dig smart policy that would allow for collocation of underground conduits, said CalTrans Broadband Coordinator Elizabeth Dooher.